Latest German Roe Deer Harvest

I harvested another Roe deer (Rehwild). This makes 8 Roe deer (3 bucks and 5 doe) and 1 boar at this one hunting revier alone this year. Plenty of game. I Hope for a another fruitful and freezer filling year.

I wouldn't know how to hunt in woods that open. In this area unless the trees are large enough to block out the sun brush will grow over your head in one growing season. The brush in this picture is a typical cut over in this area. Deer love that cut over during the growing season. They are protected from predators and the sun. There are enough baby maple trees in that cut over to easily feed 10 deer. I have seen 15 deer in a day in the same spot I took the photo. The deer are standing under a persimmon tree. There are a couple cherry trees nearby.

Hunting season ended on 1/1/14 here. I only shot one deer this year. We had no mast this year. The deer are very slim. When the deer have no mast to feed on they are only good for ground meat. 60 lb of ground meat is enough for my family.

Hunting season ended on 1/1/14 here. I only shot one deer this year. We had no mast this year. The deer are very slim. When the deer have no mast to feed on they are only good for ground meat. 60 lb of ground meat is enough for my family.

So if you want to keep meat indefinitely just don't turn it into ground meat until ready (ish) to eat?

Sorry for my questions. I'm not yet a Hunter but want to try it out.

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You can only freeze meat once. Large pieces of meat do keep longer in the freezer. We try to eat the deer down so we can have a big BBQ during the summer and that is it. By then deer that were killed early in the season has been in the freezer for 9 or 10 months. I thought holidays were an excuse to clean out the freezer :shrug:

We use a food saver to process our deer. I've had roast that was 2 years frozen and it was delicoius , nice and tender like it was the day of the kill. Its all in how you clean, store, care and cook your meat.

We use a food saver to process our deer. I've had roast that was 2 years frozen and it was delicoius , nice and tender like it was the day of the kill. Its all in how you clean, store, care and cook your meat.

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Same here. We also don't limit to just deer from hunting. We processed 2 that were taken in the field this year, and have also claimed and processed 3 fresh hit deer in the last month. All of them were good sized, and we have run out of room in the freezer. We have already given about a third of the meat to people who need it more than we do.

Yep, you read it right. We do pick up fresh road kill, but only if we see it hit or the person who hit it is right there waiting on LE to arrive.

I searched to see how long you can freeze venison. The answers I found were two years but none of the answers were scientific, just someones opinion. Once I start seeing frost in the bags (about 10 months) I call up my friends for a BBQ. Sausage and ground meat both get frost burned quickly. I have my deer ground by a butcher. The beef/pork fat would cost as much as just having it ground and packaged. The meat is packaged in a food sealer when the butcher packages the meat.

I think it also depends on the freezer. A self defrosting freezer will freezer burn the frozen food. The constant defrosting cycle is what ruins the meat. If you have a freezer that is NOT self defrosting, the meat will last much longer. Also, vacuum sealing the meat is a good idea. Makes a big difference.

I think it also depends on the freezer. A self defrosting freezer will freezer burn the frozen food. The constant defrosting cycle is what ruins the meat. If you have a freezer that is NOT self defrosting, the meat will last much longer. Also, vacuum sealing the meat is a good idea. Makes a big difference.

Jager, The first time I saw a Roe, I was looking for the spots and the mommy then someone pointed out it was the mommy! Shortly after, I saw my first Wild Boar and realized "forget the little deer, watch for the big mean pigs"! Nasty critters, one with a couple piglets rammed my jeep during Reforger, (on my preppy Lt's side of the jeep, she jumped on my lap, )